Colorado Daily – Oregon State

[h=3]Colorado Daily – Oregon State [/h]September 20thOregon State an eight-point favorite over San Diego StateVegasInsider.com has Oregon State as an eight point favorite over San Diego State on the road.
The Beavers will kickoff against the Aztecs at 5:30 p.m. (MT) on the CBSSports Networks. Oregon State comes into the game with a 2-1 record, having bounced back from an opening game loss to Eastern Washington with wins over Hawai’i and Utah. San Diego State, meanwhile, is 0-2 on the season. After an embarrassing opening game loss at home to 1-AA Eastern Illinois – by a humbling 40-19 score – the Aztecs lost on the road to Ohio State, 42-7.
As is so often the case with two blowout losses on the record, San Diego State’s rankings are not exceptional. The Aztecs are 121st in scoring; 119th in scoring defense.
Meanwhile, Oregon State is tied for the nation’s lead in passing offense (tied with Cal at 438.70 yards per game) and*tied for 21st in scoring offense (43.3 ppg.).
With SDSU coming off a bye week after a lackluster start to the year, this game could be a pivotal point in the Aztecs’ season.
“It’s the difference between 1-2 and 0-3,” said senior safety Nat Berhe. “This is going to be huge for us. We understand that.”
In a way, Game 3 marks a fresh beginning.
“Our motto we always say around here is to ‘Win 20,’ but now we’re saying, ‘Win the first one, then go win 20,” said tight end Adam Roberts, referring to the team’s 2013 goal of winning a 20th conference championship. “We want to put the first two games behind us and focus on getting the first win.”
San Diego State leads the series, 2-1, but Oregon State won the last game played between the two teams, back in 2000.
–Oregon State looking for improvement on defense against San Diego State
From the Corvallis Gazette-Times … Small steps.
In each of the last two games, the Oregon State defense has made a move forward.
To many observers, it might be difficult to see much, if any, improvement by the Beavers’ D.
It is there, between the breakdowns and big plays.
“We’re a ways away from that first game of the season, there’s no doubt about that, but it’s still a work in progress,” defensive coordinator Mark Banker said. “And players know that, coaches know that and we’re building to that. We can’t take a step backward.”
The defense was embarrassed in that first game of the season, giving up 625 yards and 49 points to Eastern Washington.
Sloppy tackling, confused coverage and lost containment were all contributing factors.
The Beavers played better against Hawaii, but the Rainbow Warriors lacked offensive power.
Utah was a much stiffer test.
The Beavers seemed up to the challenge in the first half. They were aggressive up front and swarmed to the ball, forcing the Utes to go three-and-out on the first three drives.
“The first couple drives. We just came out on fire and we got like three three-and-outs,” cornerback Sean Martin said. “I knew right there that we could do that any time we want. We’ve just got to have the right mindset.”
Utah did put together a touchdown drive and then hit a field goal, but the Beavers came up with a interception return by Martin for a touchdown to start the third quarter with a 27-10 lead.
Then the Beavers started to slide the wrong way.
Utah threw a few wrinkles in their offense and OSU did not respond well. That led to 35 second-half points for the Utes before the Beavers ultimately won in overtime.
“That’s the cool thing about football. It’s a humbling game,” defensive end Dylan Wynn said. “Whenever you think that you’re at a good point like the first half when we were shutting them down, teams adapt and teams come back harder and they got us on our heels a little bit.”
Again and again, the Beavers were fooled by the fake on the read option. Utah quarterback Travis Wilson often kept it and charged to 142 yards on 13 carries with three touchdowns. Running back James Poole had 117 yards on 25 attempts.
“It goes back to when we get tired,” Wynn said. “Everyone wants to make plays and everyone wants to be right and so we start overplaying things instead of playing the defense.
“That’s when we have to go back in and be like, OK, calm down. We’re fine. Just play the defense and we’ll be good.”
The Beavers also struggled against the screen pass, giving up several big plays.
Poole had seven catches for 70 yards and Lucky Radley had two for 30 with a touchdown. Many of those were on screens.
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